


Stay

by Kizuka_Nakahara



Category: Detroit: Become Human (Video Game)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Gender Changes, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, F/M, Female Gavin Reed Backstory, Gavin is now called Niva G. Reed because I say so, I'm Bad At Tagging, Introvert Character, Social Anxiety, Upgraded Connor | RK900 Has a Different Name, bad past, no beta we die like men
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-30
Updated: 2018-11-15
Packaged: 2019-08-11 00:22:24
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 16
Words: 15,181
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16465121
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kizuka_Nakahara/pseuds/Kizuka_Nakahara
Summary: When Detective Reed's new partner turned out to be the most socially awkward person ever, some of the officers wanted to know what's going on and why was that new guy still working with Niva.Mostly Officer Miller, who took it way too personally.A/N: This was written daily for fifteen days, I didn't beta read it yet and don't have any idea when will do it.





	1. The song of freed souls

Stay, you know me better than anyone  
You know well  
I'm afraid to be alone  
Stay to the morning at least once  
Maybe a common day  
Won't change anything in us

Stay, though I'm not worth it  
For it all  
What you can give me  
Stay, someday time will come  
For questions  
And what is now is still too much for us

Stay, search no more  
Somewhere far away  
For what you've got here

Stay, without unnecessary words  
Just like right now  
Patiently be next to me day by day  
Stay  
Stay

Stay, I won't tell you  
That it's love  
Although you're everything I need in life


	2. And they were bored

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> So here comes the first chapter  
> As I said, I'm gonna write as much as I can in the current day, and sometimes it's more, sometimes it's less  
> Feel free to comment and point out my mistakes

"So, yeah. That's obviously bothering me."

Hank rolled his eyes and for a just one shiny moment, he thought he doubted his life choices. If some things went another way, he probably wouldn't have to deal with Chris, who's been quite twitchy since the new officer refused to shake hands with him.

That guy accidentally seemed weird to Hank too. Oleg Volkov, a fresh graduate of the police academy, was unusual from the very beginning. He never took off his trenchcoat, even if it was kinda too hot to wear it. His foot never stood in the break room and he basically never risked passing by more than one other worker.

"Chris, you're just overreactive. Maybe you just scared him. Or he was, I dunno, bullied?"

Connor raised his head and looked at them. "How can you say it, Lieutenant? Did I miss something?"

"No, I just thought they would bully a guy who wears glasses. Especially the nerdy ones. The thing I want to say is that you can't just circle him like some predator, he's gonna be scared even more. And I think you would mess with Niva."

"Oh, so let's move to this topic." Chris crossed his arms and licked his lips. "What the hell this guy made to be paired with Reed?"

"Yes, because, of course, I would know."

Hank shifted on his seat and rolled his eyes when Connor came back to writing a report.

"I mean if this guy is so damn terrified, why didn't he argue about working with her?"

"Because he wanted it."

Well, Connor always listened to the conversations like this, if not eaves-dropped them. And he never failed to add his two cents.

"What?"

"I was curious and since I couldn't ask Officer Volkov directly, I asked Captain Fowler about it. He didn't want to talk about it much, but he admitted that the Officer simply wanted to work with Detective Reed."

"Chris, let's stick with the most likely solution - he wanted to gain some damn experience from a detective, but chose poorly and got himself in trouble. He's gonna wail for help in a few days." Hank smiled lightly and for the first time in that hour, he tried to write his report.

Connor said nothing more and Miller walked away. He wasn't satisfied with this answer.

~

Oleg corrected his glasses and hummed quietly while searching for the fictional character named William T. Spears. Niva kept calling him that since he started to wear those glasses. The name seemed nice, but the android already got accustomed to his actual name. After a few minutes of research in an old fanpedia site, he was glad that Niva didn't make him choose that name.

At the moment, he got nothing to do but wait for his partner. Niva G. Reed could be called several interesting nicknames, but none of them would refer to her punctuality since it didn't exist. When Oleg dared to ask about it, she said she would be late for her own funeral.

Finally, she came. It's not like she was busy with brushing her hair or doing make-up. She looked like she just woke up, which was true.

Niva simply loved sleeping and Oleg felt not allowed to say a word against it. He wanted to say that she's 55 minutes and 49 seconds late, but no word escaped his lips.

"Cat got your tongue?" She laughed lightly and tried to imitate his somewhat completely blank face. "Hey, Oleg, are you listening to me?"

"I do."

"Then why are you so mute? What do we have to do on such early hour?"

"It's 9:57. I do not find this hour as early. We should pay a visit to the witness we couldn't speak to yesterday. He said we could talk to him in the call centre he works."

Niva stretched and yawned. "Lead me there, smart-ass."

In several minutes, they were in the right place. Oleg got enough time to recall every important fact of their case, as Niva still was kinda sleepy.

Luckily, just before the meeting with the witness, they found a coffee machine, where the detective spent a few minutes, enjoying her cheaply made drink. 

They quickly spotted the guy they were looking for, or, to be more precise, he saw them and came closer, to the corridor. 

While Oleg was talking all the way there, at the moment he was just a ghost, standing slightly behind Niva. She was the one questioning about the details. He just reminded about a thing or two, not really trying to join the chat.

"So, let's get this all sorted once again, you've been walking down the road and there was that guy who run to the bus station and he just looked like he popped out from nowhere and was being chased by a devil?" 

"Yes, and it was like that. I asked him about it, but he ignored me and entered the first bus that drove there."

"Would you recognize him if it was needed?"

"Maybe? I'm not sure, but if you really need that, I would try. Sorry, but I should go now."

Niva exhaled loudly. She thought the witness would give them something just a bit more relevant than just the confirmation that the suspect run away from the crime scene, which was glaringly obvious for anyone who would think about it. for a second. 

When they were back in the car, she started to whine about it. They got no suspect, no motive, just some open case with a dead man chilling in the bath, surrounded by rose petals and candles. This seemed ridiculous, utterly ridiculous. 

Oleg was sitting still and waiting for her to stop. He didn't like this case too, but it's not like they could send a complain and choose another one. They had to sit down and deal with it, doesn't matter if they like it or not. 

They excluded the first ideas that could come to mind after seeing a crime scene like this one. This wasn't some kind of lover's revenge, the deceased got no known enemies, he was an everybody-loves-me kind of guy.

"You know what? We won't get anything new from sitting here and thinking. Let's go to the gym, I'm gonna beat the shit out of that punching bag."

"So we should hurry." Oleg knew that Niva would punch anything around her if she was enough annoyed, so he quickly drove her to the precinct.


	3. I somehow got help

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Well, I don't know how I'm gonna work on my school days, but for now, it's not that bad  
> A few years ago I was writing a fanfic like that for a month and it wasn't that bad

After another punch landed on the hanging bag, a thought hit Niva.

"Hey, Oleg?"

"Yes?" The android was busy doodling on his tablet.

"Who called the police? Who reported the situation? I think we're missing something damn important,"

"As long as I know, it was an android. She said that she heard obnoxious noises coming from the flat. Although, we know nothing about her. We can say she was in the place at the time, but she lied with her address. No androids work or live in that building."

"So she would be even our suspect, right?"

Oleg shrugged, so Niva punched the bag once again. She hated feeling so helpless. The forensic team was incredibly busy at the time, so they couldn't get any relevant data from the crime scene yet. 

The android found himself leaving Niva alone in the gym. He could obviously text the technician from the team directly, but he wanted to move. Niva's company usually soothed him but in her current emotional state, she could make him nervous even more.

"Good afternoon, Officer Volkov. It's nice seeing you today."

"Oh, uh. Hello, Connor. You can call me Oleg." He gulped and looked away.

The RK800 smiled once again and decided that he should use the chance to start a proper conversation with the officer. 

"I heard that you work with Detective Reed now. How do you feel about that?"

"I'm not sure." He hugged himself and looked away.

Connor's head tilted slightly, his LED was circling yellow. It wasn't that easy to just get the right information. It was already known that Oleg's answers for most questions were reluctant and laconic.

"I guessed that you two got a troublesome case recently."

Officer Volkov, no matter how he wanted to stay still, looked at Connor weirdly. He knew that Niva wouldn't admit such thing to anyone, not when she was so stubborn to solve the mystery.

"I think Detective Reed likes to relieve stress with working out. I would be incredibly happy if Hank did the same."

"We've let the forensic team do the investigation of the crime scene." Oleg shyly tried to change the topic, cause he didn't want to let Connor talk about his partner. It would take too long.

"So you are waiting for the results? It can take some time, I'm afraid." Connor waited for a response but got only a simple nod. "I'm not in the best terms with Detective Reed, but I could have helped you."

"What do you mean?" 

RK800 smiled and felt like a winner. "I am equipped with the latest technologies so I can be called a walking forensic lab. There's just one flaw that discomforts other officers."

"And what is this?"

"My design allows me to test the samples of many things but it includes taking these in my mouth, which our coworkers find as 'disgusting'."

Oleg glanced to the right and to the left. Well, he assumed he would deal with it and there were no real cons of letting Connor help them. "I've seen something similar to that before, I would deal with it. Can we go? Niva is not going to stop for another hour."

Connor's LED blinked for a moment, cause he wasn't expecting that answer. Yes, there was a little probability of this event, but it was so small and the android simply ignored it.

"Um, Connor? Is everything okay?"

"Oh, yes. I need Hank to know I'm going out. Is the crime scene far from the precinct?"

"Several streets, I guess."

Connor mentioned that he would call a taxi for them and quickly walked away, leaving quite astonished Oleg all on his own. He just breathed for a few times and then he sent a message to Niva. Something stupid about his need to get some fresh air. 

When he left the precinct, the taxi was already in place. Since he wasn't entirely sure if it was the particular taxi Connor called for, he just stood still and waited for the goofy android. 

"Officer, I mean, Oleg, why didn't you enter the car?"

Well, he got nothing in response. Just like in the car, where the officer sat as far as he can from Connor and ignored every little attempt in small talk. Even when they reached their destination, Oleg kept refusing to answer.

The place of that murder was messy and somewhat run-down. The rooms were tastelessly furnished, but there was no time to contemplate, so they immediately went to the bathroom.

The deceased's body was obviously already taken from the place, but since Connor said nothing, Oleg assumed that there was still much to investigate. He let the RK800 do his magic alone. 

He obviously looked around and searched for a few interesting things. He could spot several objects, like empty bottles, dropped pillows, but it gave him no new clues.

"Officer, I think I found some new facts. Did you know that there was an android involved?"

"An android called the police." He crossed his arms and closed his eyes for a moment. 

"There's some shattered glass on the ground, but it laid there for some time. It looks like the android stepped on it barefoot and got hurt. I checked the thirium trace and it was a WR400 model."

"So, Traci."

"Indeed. As long as I know, the man was strangled, right?" He got a nod. "It's an obvious assumption that the Traci would come and attack him and when he or she run away, stepped in that shattered glass."

"Well, we can ask the witness if the man that was seen running in the area looked anything like the Traci android."

Connor nodded. "I also managed to get the identity of the dead man, since I didn't ask for it. I would take a look at his file."

"You did much, I think. It's not your case." Oleg was simply embarrassed by his own incompetence. 

"Hank told me to find a hobby and said once that 'helping others' counts, so I'm happy to do so."

"Niva." Oleg simply stated and walked away.

Connor hummed quietly and followed him, knowing that there was still so much to say.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Kudos and comments are highly appreciated


	4. We have new troubles

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Well, I enjoy your interest in this work, thank you for all your kudos!

Connor found his current mission partially accomplished. He talked to Officer Volkov and helped him with the investigation.

Obviously, he couldn't simply come to Hank and Chris to talk about his secret research, because they would react quite loudly and gain the attention of other workers. Instead of it, he made his way to the break room and decided to prepare some coffee for his friends.

That was the place where he found Oleg. The officer looked at him without saying a word, while adding two spoons of sugar to the mug. After a quick glance at the words written on it, Connor was sure that this particular mug was Niva's. There was quite a little number of people who would like a sentence 'I'm not having a bad day, I just don't like you' on their mug.

Oleg left the room, but came back after a few minutes and started pacing around, still with the mug in his hands. 

Connor turned on the coffee machine and glanced at him. "What's the problem, Oleg?" 

"I just made some coffee for Niva, but I found out that she's already out. I mean, it was likely to happen, but I don't know what to do with it."

"Maybe drink it, if you don't want to pour it into the sink. It's unlikely that anyone else would try to drink from Detective Reed's mug."

Well, at first, it didn't stop the officer from making circles, but finally, he started to drink the coffee, so Connor smiled to him and walked out with two mugs.

Frankly, as he thought, Chris was talking to Hank, since other workers were probably busy with their cases. 

"And I said that- Oh, hello, Connor. You didn't have to make me coffee."

"But I wanted to. It's my pleasure, not duty." 

While Officer Miller was simply nodding, Hank already drank half of the mug. Connor smiled slightly and sat on Hank's desk. The Lieutenant already knew that something was up, so he let the android talk.

"I went with Officer Volkov to the crime scene of his investigation so I received a chance to learn quite a bit more about him. I should ask you for being quiet because Oleg is still nearby and I do not want to ruin our fragile thread of understanding."

Chris rolled his eyes and tried to stay still.

"I think he is able to warm up for others and he needs enough time for that. I can't understand why he has so good contact with Detective Reed yet, but I might have found the first person in the precinct who's not disgusting by my methods."

Hank laughed. "You tried to be nice but couldn't stop yourself from licking stuff?"

"Oleg deserved a warning and he knew how this was supposed to look. He agreed."

"Crazy. You're sure you didn't make it up to vaunt?"

Well, Connor was made to be patient and nice, but that annoyed him enough to made him leave without a word. If they didn't want to make stupid guesses about officer Volkov, they wouldn't do shit like this.

Meanwhile, Oleg was struggling if it's appropriate to visit Niva. He got nothing interesting to do and he wanted to talk about the investigation. It wasn't an urge or a great necessity, so he got a dilemma. 

Busy playing with buttons of his trenchcoat, he flinched when he got a message.

_Come, you look like a stalker, standing down there and lurking at my windows._

He hid his face in his hands for a moment, feeling incredibly embarrassed of himself. And it was obviously too late to come back and run away. Despite many little fears, Oleg never wanted to be a complete coward.

Well, he couldn't ring the bell, but luckily he didn't have to wait long. Niva opened the door, shot him knowing look and went back to let him go inside.

When he closed the door he took a second look at her. He slightly flinched, being somewhat unprepared for a sight of her wearing a bathrobe. He leaned on the door and breathed.

It seemed surreal, her smile, her skin. Oleg scratched his arms sharply and stiffened. He never felt when his body started to slide down, at least not until he felt the floor. His head tilted.

Niva realised that something was wrong, so she run to him.

"Oleg! Come on, what is it?"

"Nothing," he whispered weakly, "nothing changed at all, m-miss Deer."

She slapped him lightly. "Oleg, it has changed. You are not there and I'm not a damn miss Deer, okay?"

He raised his head, letting her see the tears in his eyes. Niva fought the urge to hug him and grabbed a tissue from a box lying nearby. She handed him it.

"Oleg, it's okay, we're okay. Calm down."

"I'm horrible." 

He started to wipe his face. Niva counted that as a good sign.

"You are not, shut up. I'm gonna dress up, I'll be back in a minute."

When she was getting dressed, Oleg breathed deeply and finally calmed down. It was Niva's home, her "shitty but sweet" home. When he made sure that he's cool, he got up.

"Shit, I'm sorry Oleg, I didn't realise, my damn bad, yeah?"

"Don't bother yourself with it. I'm okay now."

Well, she made him go with her to the kitchen and gave him a glass of cold thirium. He didn't ask since when she got it and how she got it.

Niva kept an eye on him, while she was busy brushing her hair. She couldn't understand her own fears, not mentioning someone else's. 

"So what brought you under my windows, huh?"

"I was back on the crime scene, with that Connor you told me about."

"What? And you let him lick our scene?" She sounded betrayed for a moment, but she laughed just a second later. "Well, and you got any interesting info?"

"Connor said that there was a Traci android on the scene. There's a possibility that the forensic team missed that."

"Anything else?"

Oleg shrugged but looked like he was struggling with saying something more, so Niva waited patiently for him.

"There's a chance that I got a similar software."

"You licked a wall to prove it?"

"No, it's disgusting. I drank a cup of coffee and could tell the temperature, brand and grade of impurity."

She snorted. "Well, you should shut up, I like my coffee and I don't want you to ruin it."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Share your thoughts in comments


	5. I think I understand

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> What's up, my dears? How are you feeling today?

Oleg was sitting alone in the train, zoning out and thinking about the recent days. His life changed sharply since he ended the police academy. 

No one had to know that he was the first android to do so. He wanted to work as a police officer, so he fought with his greatest fears and successfully graduated from the academy. 

Since the whole learning thing needed a large amount of complicated paperwork, Oleg had accepted the help New Jericho could give him and that was clearly the reason how did he meet Markus.

Besides the obvious pros of this situation, Oleg could find some cons of it too. One of them was that the android leader had his contact and could call anytime he wanted. Officer Volkov found it rude to decline his calls.

This time, Markus needed Oleg to come to New Jericho. The artist admitted that the case was quite discreet and there was an urgency to deal with it as soon as possible. 

The announcement popped up, making the android come back to the reality. He arrived at the right station, so he jumped on the pavement and run up, trying to avoid everyone. He didn't care about how ridiculous he looked. I didn't matter at all.

He remembered the way to the headquarter, so he walked there without thinking. The corridors of the building were still messy, the androids got it recently and had not enough time for proper cleaning yet. 

Oleg passed the reception quickly, while the receptionists were busy talking to each other. He entered the right office without knocking and closed the door.

"And as I said, we need those flowers prepared by Ralph, I know, but I already promised him that he would do it for us. I can't say him 'no' now. And- I'm sorry, I can't talk at the moment." Markus ended the call and glanced at his guest. "I should recall you that there are rules to respect in this place, Oleg."

The officer blinked, crossed his arms and leaned on the closest wall, not really caring about the artist's words.

"Anyway, I'm glad you found a moment for me. You see, we still have small groups of new deviants. They are lost and overwhelmed by the lack of their duties. Some of them are scared."

Oleg nodded and again, spoke nothing.

"We're happy to know that you can represent us in the law enforcement." Markus expectorated, seeing as the officer looked more and more bored of all of it. "Let's get to the point. Among the most recent newcomers, there's a WR400 android. She didn't share her name with us and backs off every time someone wants to talk with her. Josh had connected with her for a few seconds and he swore he saw you in her memories."

This time Officer Volkov started to scratch his arm nervously.

"We don't want the answers yet, we just want you to talk to her. I believe you would calm her down." Markus smiled shyly. "It's just a guess, but we want to try."

Oleg nodded his head and closed his eyes. "Where is she?"

"Two rooms from here, in 203."

"I can try." Those were his final words before he left the office.

Luckily, none of the receptionists made their way there, so he didn't have to deal with them. He just simply walked to the right place and knocked. Once or twice. No one answered, so he opened the door quietly and peeked inside.

It was just a small room with an empty desk and little sofa. On the latter furniture sat someone, covered completely in a blanket.

"Hello?"

She glanced at him and unwrapped herself partially. "It's you."

Oleg breathed deeply and looked at her, closing the door. "Yeah, me. How can I call you?"

"I-I don't know if I can have a name." She shivered.

"Of course you can. Markus is gonna make an ID card for you so you can own your own name now." 

They looked away, probably not noticing they did it together.

"So you've got a name now, huh? Your pick?"

Oleg shrugged and closed his eyes. "Yes, I picked it myself."

The Traci giggled. "It's a weird feeling, sticking to one name. So what is it now? Kennet? Elia?"

"Oleg. My name is Oleg."

" _Oleg._ I guess it's cool. And yours. I think I like Stacy."

"You can be Stacy if you want to."

She said that name out loud for a few times and then, she looked in Oleg's eyes and nodded slightly.

"So how's life, Stacy?"

He knew the question was incredibly dumb, but it seemed like kinda too late to rethink. While she was playing with her hair, he moved and sat on the desk.

"Terrible." She covered herself once again. "Was there any sense to ask so?"

"No. I just don't know what to talk about."

"Weren't you scared that I would blame you?"

"You would do that?" She shook her head. "So what's the point?"

"Nevermind." 

Oleg stood up and thought that he accomplished the task. Stacy calmed down. He was in the middle of the room when she grasped his hand.

"That Markus guy said that you are working for police now."

"Yes."

"You didn't tell me."

"Didn't found a reason to do so."

She covered the lower half of her face and hesitated. Oleg waited.

"I think I might have witnessed a murder."

"Where?" He flinched, as he thought about the info he got from Connor.

"In my last client's flat. I run away, so I'm not sure."

"Was he in the bath, surrounded by candles, by chance?"

"He, he was." This time, she wrapped herself tighter. 

Oleg crouched in front of her and grabbed one of her hands. He was scared too, but he knew that fear wouldn't lead them anywhere.

"Stacy. I need you to cooperate. You don't have to go with me now, wait until you are ready."

"Okay. What's with all of those androids?"

He thought how he hadn't liked being surrounded back then. "They mean no harm to you. You can talk to them, you can tell them you don't want to talk. They'll help."

"Oleg."

"Yes?"

"L-leave me. I want to be alone."

He stood up and left without any word. 

Stacy felt grateful.


	6. The solutions of life

Niva knew she should have been busy with work all the time, but she also knew that no matter how rude or late she was, she would always get herself out of trouble.

That seemed like the main reason why she loved enjoying her breakfasts with her cat. She wasn't afraid if someone could yell at her because she was the one to yell at everybody. 

At the moment, she was struggling with a crossword. Her plate was nearly empty, while the page in her magazine was not. 

After several minutes, Niva decided to call Oleg, since he was the only one person who would leave everything to help her. Not that she wanted to use him. Not at all. 

"Yes?" 

"Hi. Do you happen to know the name for the longest river in Russia? It's six letters long, but I only know one and it's two letters long."

"Why can't you google it? It's the Irtysh."

"Thought it would be fun since you have a Russian name."

Silence fell between them for a while. Niva could hear noises of the train when Oleg listened as she ate her toasts with Nutella. 

"Why Oleg? You don't look like one." 

For a moment, there was only the noise of his artificial breath. 

"Only if you tell me your middle name," he stated quietly. 

"It's stupid..."

"Doesn't matter."

"Gabrielle. So what's with yours?" 

She moved to the bathroom and started to brush her teeth. 

"My reason is equally or even more stupid. This name fits someone who is strong. And I wasn't. I'm not strong, but I want to be."

"Yeah, that's stupid." She took another bite. "It's stupid that you're calling yourself weak. And don't even dare to argue with me."

"Okay."

She asked him for a few other things she needed for her crossword and when he answered to all of it, Niva felt like it was the moment to end the call.

"Niva?"

"Yeah?"

"I think we may have a new witness."

"Why 'may'?"

Oleg murmured something. "She's still scared. I told her to come, but I don't know when will she feel ready."

"Cool. I mean, it would be incredibly cool if she wanted to come to us immediately because we would be done with it already."

Niva put the phone on speaker and started to wash the dishes. She knew that if Oleg didn't say anything about having no time or something, he probably wanted to keep talking.

And she was right. 

"I think she is like me. I'm happy that Markus doesn't know this, that I'm just as scared as Stacy."

"It's different now." She washed another plate.

"I didn't hear you correctly, Niva. Can you repeat?"

"I said that it's kinda different now because you are less scared, right? You work with me and it's okay. You don't hide anymore."

Another sharp breath. Niva wondered how his breath, artificial breath, can be so realistic. He never ceased to surprise her.

"I think I liked it more when we were talking about the crossword. Don't you need any help?"

"Not anymore. I just ended it. Do you want to know the solution?"

"Tell me."

"It's 'metro last light'." She giggled. "I remember that game. I would pay anything to get some old computer and play the original game."

"Hmm, would you tell me about it?"

Niva wiped her hands and shot a glare to the photograph of Oleg in her phone. She knew the android wanted her to talk and that he could google it easily, just in a matter of seconds, but he didn't. Or better, he did and still wanted to listen to her.

"You are impossible, you know it?"

"I'm not the part of this game, Niva. I don't know what are you talking about."

"Cheeky bastard. Sit down and prepare for a long and melancholic journey to my past, where twelve-year-old Niva sneaked out from school to one of her dumb classmate, who also skipped classes, but had a big bro who would let him play the games for adults."

She flinched when she heard him laugh, he totally, genuinely laughed.

"I always expected you to be the rebel one."

"Of- OF COURSE IMMA THE REBEL!"

"Yes, you are. So, the classmate that kept failing."

"His room was like the messiest place I had seen before I saw a crime scene. And I kinda fancied him."

"The room or the classmate?"

She snorted. "I just liked his attitude. Guy's attitude. If it comes to looks, I think I wanted to snog my chemistry teacher that time."

Well, she couldn't resist describing that teacher and the classmate. Her story that was supposed to be about the game, turned out to be a novella about her life in the 7th grade. Not that Oleg complained.

"Hey, am I not boring for you right now?"

"No, it's just... that melancholy you told about earlier. I think I have it now."

"Oh."

"Yeah, oh. I think it'll pass."

"No, tell me. What's on your mind?"

"I'm wondering what kind of a kid would I have been if I had a chance." For this time, he was the one who didn't get the answer. "I'm wondering if I would want to play that game. And I don't have any idea."

"I guess. You can always imagine that."

"Imagine?"

"Yeah, I used to do so when blokes want me to talk but I didn't want to talk about my life. Just think about a few things you like and imagine something you would want to do. Or anything. No one can control what's in your head."

She heard a long hum, which seemed slightly better than just awkward silence.

"I think I'm seeing that river in Russia. I think about sitting on the edge with my feet in the water. I guess I would listen to nature then. Some birds or running stream."

She knew she would stop him, she would say that he was supposed to think of something that looked less than some therapy shit, but she never said a word. He had a dream about a river and Niva was no one to comment.


	7. We are all scared

Since when was it, was he like this? Probably from the very beginning. Chris finally calmed down and accepted that Volkov is not a social person and doesn't like getting close to people. He even said once that he doesn't care why was Oleg like this, what had started it.

One day, there was a Traci android, wandering around in the precinct. He heard when she introduced herself as Stacy, but she refused to say anything else, even the reason why she was there. 

When Chris looked at her, he knew that he could see something familiar. Stacy was wearing a dark jumper and slightly over length black jeans. She kept hiding her hands in her sleeves.

Chris couldn't admit it didn't remind him of Oleg's behaviour, so he came to her eventually. 

"Hello, I'm Chris Miller. You seemed quite lost and I wanted to ask if you are looking for Officer Oleg Volkov, by chance."

She flinched when he came closer, but after listening to him, she nodded reluctantly. 

"Okay. I just wanted you to know that he didn't come yet."

"Is- Is he working alone?" 

Chris crossed his arms and thought about it for a moment. Was it a good idea to send her to Niva? 

"O-officer?" 

"Oh, my bad. Yes, I mean, no. I think his partner is around already. You should ask for-" He stopped for a second as he looked at her. She froze like a deer in the headlights. "Or maybe I'll walk with you and we can look for Detective Reed. Is that okay?" 

"I think it is."

She obviously kept a proper distance between them and Chris tried to respect her choice. Besides, he was able to imagine what kind of thing would make her behave as she did then. 

This time, it wasn't that hard. Niva was just chilling at her desk.

"What is it?" she asked tiredly. 

"This is Stacy and as far as I know, she's looking for Oleg."

He didn't have to say anything, because Detective Reed yawned and, surprisingly, got up. 

"Oh, right. Oleg told me about you. You can sit down if you want." She pointed at the chair, but Stacy politely refused. "And Chris," she looked at her coworker, "thanks." 

"No problem," he murmured, while looking at her, bewildered. After a moment he received a knowing glare from her and he knew he should leave them alone.

"So," Niva started, biting her lip and moving her sight back at Stacy, "Oleg is gonna be late, the train he was in suddenly broke and he's in the taxi on the way here."

"O-okay. Is he alright?" 

"I talked to him like five minutes ago. He had problems with calling the taxi, but now he's okay." She sat down on the desk this time, again offering Stacy her chair. "Anyway. Do you want to talk with him only or can I join you at it?"

Stacy closed her eyes and took a deep breath. 

"I know you."

"Yes, we have probably met before."

"And you know Oleg. You knew him before."

"That's also correct, Stacy."

The Traci finally sat down and hid her face in her hands. Niva said nothing and took a sip of her coffee.

"We can t-talk, detective."

"Just call me Niva. Do you need more time?" 

Stacy shook her head and looked at Niva.

"Were you the one who called the police?"

"Yes, I was so scared..."

"That's... understandable. How's that possible you were at that place at that time?"

Stacy started to tap the desk nervously.

"That man, mister Freiss, was my client. He was a regular, so the owner tru-trusted him and agreed with getting me to his flat."

"How did you come there?" 

"My owner drove me."

"Wait, so he was there too?" When Stacy flinched, Niva realised she should be calmer. "Okay, other question. Did you step in broken glass?" 

"Y-yes."

The tapping didn't stop for some time, so Niva crossed her arms and waited for a little while longer. 

"You didn't see it?" 

"I was running away. The glass was there before I came to the flat, but I missed it when-" 

"Okay. Breathe." Stacy did that and relaxed a bit. "You don't have to answer my questions or wait for them. If you're ready for talking about anything that would help us, you can say it."

Stacy sat still and completely stopped tapping. She closed her eyes and curled up slightly. 

"I was nervous about those candles, but I didn't say anything."

Niva nodded and looked around if anyone was coming too close to them. 

"I... I undressed him, mister Freiss wanted me to do it. He sat down in the bath and wanted me to join him and I-I hesitated."

"Because the candles were making you nervous."

"Y-yes. I had to ful-fulfill his wish, but I realised that someone was in the flat. He told me to stay still."

"Who? Freiss?"

"N-no," she croaked and hid her face once again, "it was my owner, mister Lorenzo."

This time Niva stiffened and felt happy that she was already sitting. She couldn't form a word.

"My client was still laughing and joking when mister Lorenzo entered the bathroom. And mister Lorenzo made him stop. Permanently."

Niva was close to splashing the coffee on her own face to sober up. She knew she and Oleg couldn't face Lorenzo alone. She couldn't admit it to herself that just the imagination of that man made her nervous. No, not nervous. More like totally scared.

And suddenly she heard her own name. She snapped out of her thought suddenly and listened. When she realised it was Anderson, she wanted to ignore it, but then he said something about Oleg.

She jumped and run, never noticing how Stacy quickly hid under her desk.


	8. The truths

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> To be honest, I don't have time today so I wrote this one yesterday and I don't think it's a good thing that I wrote it so easily

Hank felt his age as a terrible thing, like a struggle, a large backpack filled with stones. The times he admitted that his wisdom that came from the age helped him, he could count them on his fingers. 

Sometimes he thought about the people that lived before him and couldn't disagree that they had been as bad as he was. He wondered when would be that one important point in history where the people wouldn't have to fight with racism. By the time most of them finally accepted the blacks as the equal part of society, a new problem occurred. Ironic, the android that led the other deviants to freedom, was dark skinned. 

Hank had to accept that the misfortune he experienced wasn't androids' fault. It was nobody's fault, just the wrong time and wrong place. He didn't have to tell Connor about Cole, that goofy bastard found it alone. Not that Hank would find himself ready to talk about it. 

He started to feel less surprised after every android he met in some place. He tried to, at least. Most of the precinct's androids didn't come back, but he founded them somewhere else.

He never shared with Connor the fact that the receptionist from police station opened her own bar, where she gave discounts to everyone who treated her nicely. 

While looking at Oleg, he spotted something that reminded him of Connor, but he couldn't say what was that. There was no name for it.

Obviously, he felt equally good and bad that there was someone else besides Connor with that terrible social skills. It wasn't the same case, because Connor was confused when Oleg seemed more anxious.

Well, there had to be that day Hank found out that Oleg Volkov was an android. Later, he wished the circumstances were different. 

He just came from his lunch break, still munching the last bite of his sandwich. He had some tasks to do, but it's not like he turned into an android after letting one live in his house. No, no. Hank didn't like to hurry, so no one could force him to work faster.

The first string of curses he heard sounded not so alarming. Lieutenant knew how his vocabulary was visibly reduced at some bad morning. There was also Niva G. Reed, who would use swear words to display any existing emotion. It didn't end just on one yell and that caught Hank's attention. Some other officers also looked for the source of noises but didn't dare to check.

Lieutenant eventually got up and walked around. The bullpen was quite silent, so he didn't take a proper look. The break room was empty, so Hank moved to the main corridor. 

That was the place where he witnessed a scene of conversation between Oleg and some unfamiliar man. To be honest, Hank had to point out two things. First, it was a slightly unexpected event to meet a person taller than Officer Volkov. Second, it looked nothing like a proper conversation.

It wasn't that the guy was breaking the savoir-vivre by not respecting the ins and outs of personal space. The man was holding lapels of Oleg's coat tightly and shaking the android like some dolly. 

Hank also paid bigger attention to the words of the man. Those were nasty names and slurs. Some of them were quite familiar to the Lieutenant, the insults about being just a thing, a property.

He was bewildered, cause Oleg looked a bit android-like, but it was never affirmed. And then, as the man placed a punch on Oleg's face and blue blood started to drip, there was no doubt. 

Lieutenant was already forming words and coming closer. He was thinking so fast - why he didn't fight back? The answer also came immediately. Oleg was crying and looked stiffer than Hank had ever seen him.

"Stop this right now, harassing the police officer is a crime." He showed a badge and got only a wild glare in response. "There's still a chance for you, and if you don't want to, I won't hesitate to tase you."

"Piss off, man. I'm doing what I want with my property. It had run off and all I can get from this is just some shitty equivalent of crying. This crap ain't an officer."

This was it. Some dumb or genius instincts kicked it and Hank punched the guy. When he let go of Oleg, Hank tased him a few times and then handcuffed. 

"Leave me alone! This is my shit!" the guy murmured weakly.

"Not now." He heard a loud noise and looked behind. Oleg fell on the ground. "Damn it. Connor!"

"Coming, Lieutenant!" 

Hank wondered if Connor saw the situation and was too scared to intervene, but then shook his head. "Oleg just fell, can you check him?"

After a few seconds and a complaint about how could Connor miss that Oleg was the android, they got the answer. "His stress levels were too high, his systems have shut down to prevent autodestruction. I'll bring a technician. Do you need help?"

"I'll do it myself, go."

He had so much to talk with Reed... But first, he took the guy to the cell. He was sure the guy, especially that size, wouldn't get any medical problems from just a small taser. When he was done, he obviously had to meet Chris.

"What the hell happened there?" 

It's not like he wanted to keep a secret, he was just tired.

"I have other stuff to do, okay? I'll do it fast and just once, so listen to me carefully. First, Oleg is an android. Second, his owner showed up and tried to beat him. Third, Oleg passed out, you can help Connor with taking care of him. Fourth, we got this owner in the cell behind me. And fifth... where the hell is Niva?"

"I think she is at her desk. I saw her there like thirty minutes ago and didn't see her leaving."

"Thanks, now go away."

Hank came back to the bullpen.

"NIVA! COME THE HELL HERE!"


	9. The knight in shiny armour

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Let me know what you think

When Hank came back from the cells, he spotted Connor, fidgeting near the door to the gym. He was holding glasses in his hand and looking at them, confused. Lieutenant realised that those were worn by Oleg for some time and that probably felt wrong for Connor. 

Why would an android wear glasses? 

"Oh, it's you, Lieutenant."

"Yeah. I see you've been overheating your processors. I don't know if it can help you, but I also don't have a clue about Oleg."

"Thank you, Lieutenant, but that's not helping me much. I tried to talk to Detective Reed, but she's refusing. There's a high probability she knows more." Connor shuddered helplessly. "I was equipped with a scanner that provides me with the ability to recognize every android. I could flatly scan for Officer Oleg's condition, but I can't name his model."

"Relax, Connor." Hank put a hand on his partner's shoulder. "What if Oleg is just Russian android or something like that? We'll see. I'm gonna talk to Niva now."

Connor wanted to argue more, but a look from Lieutenant stopped him. "Well, good luck, Hank."

Hank smiled sourly, took those glasses and left Connor.

Since they couldn't think of a better and closer place, Connor and Chris took Oleg to the gym and called for the technician. At the time, no one exercised, so the place was calm. 

Lieutenant entered the gym. The technician had his laptop connected with a few wires coming from Oleg's wrist. The window opened in laptop reminded him of the electrocardiogram or some similar shit. This didn't bring good memories, but Hank fought the fears and didn't flee.

Oleg was laid down on the mattress and while his one wrist was connected to the laptop, the other one had its skin turned off.

Niva was holding his white, plastic hand. She had sat cross-legged and her face looked like she just ended crying.

"Leave me alone, you dumb shit." Hank ignored her and sat down on the ground, while technician decided to leave. "I said-" 

"Heard that the first time, Reed. I think we need to talk." 

She inhaled, looked at him and exhaled. "Okay. Thought it was your puppy." 

"Don't call Connor that." 

"Don't tell me what to do. Chris told me once that you kept calling him a poodle, so you know. Hypocrisy." She even giggled. "Thanks, Anderson."

"No problem, kid." He waited for a moment but got no response. "Who's that guy that beaten him?"

"Sonny Lorenzo."

"For what purposes he owned Oleg, huh?" Another awkward silence. "Okay, I guess he would report that if it was some household purposes. What's his business?"

"Full Moon club." 

Hank breathed deeply and connected the dots in his mind.

"Thought you were done with closing strip clubs and the clubs in general. What changed your mind?" 

"This one was the only club I liked and where I couldn't meet the douches from my cases." She looked down. "I was just a client, drinking stuff and all."

"And Oleg?" 

Niva swore silently. "He worked as the bartender on the nights, when the human worker was too tired or busy."

"Weird."

"Shut up and don't interrupt me. It turned out that Lorenzo used him for other purposes too. I got a free day, so I came earlier and I spotted him among the Tracis." She was looking at Oleg's fingers connected with hers. "I knew he was an android, but I also knew that look in his eyes. I think he was already deviant then."

Hank was aware of Niva's past cases, where she liked to find a reason for closing the strip clubs. He could mention at least three of them...

"What do you mean by that look?" 

"Something like those faces of women who were beaten by their husbands. You can't misinterpret it. Oleg was totally disgusted by himself. Pained on the inside, while the other 'droids were grinning like idiots." 

And it was probably like that, thought Hank. Niva saw something she couldn't let be and chose to save the world by breaking the rules, just as some rebel would do.

"He said some time ago that he had forced WR400 software in him. And he felt it wasn't the original protocol."

"And how did you help him?"

"Lorenzo liked me, so agreed when I wanted to rent a room to spend some time with Oleg alone. He was joking what would happen if he was the bartender. Old pervert." Niva coughed. "We were alone and I... I would never forget his stuttering voice. He sounded betrayed, you know? He believed that I was different."

"Never seen you so touched." He smiled. "How did you enlighten him?"

"I just opened the window, saying that it was quite stuffy. He was so dumbfounded for a second or two. And then, he connected the dots. He took the sheet from the bed and wrapped himself in it like a burrito. I still don't know how he got out in it." Niva run her free hand through her hair and grinned to the memory. "Anyway, before you ask - he wasn't naked or exposed, he just wanted to be covered. I just told him my name, gave him two bucks and let him go."

"So you weren't expecting him to show up?"

"Nope. Just I wouldn't imagine him in the police academy. Thought he would turn out as some hermit or florist. Not that I'm unhappy with his choice. I hope he'll be alright."

"I guess he will. He's your damn knight with armour made of a trench coat, Reed."

"Shut up."

The technician came back, while Hank decided it's time to leave. He slowly got up and yawned. Oh, he needed coffee.

"Anderson."

"Yeah?"

"I'm tired of your puppy circling around me. Can you do something about it?"

"Well, I would need any clue why Connor can't say what model Oleg is."

Niva turned her head and looked at him. "Anderson, look at him."

Hank took a long look, just as he was said to. Oleg with plain expression and without his glasses seemed familiar. His eyes might have been sharp and silver, but his face looked so similar to Connor's.

"Da hell?"

"That's what I have said. That androids' saviour is trying to decode files about him, but it's hard work, even for them. Now leave us alone, I'm tired of your shit."


	10. Connections

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Yeah, this chapter is even shorter, I'm sorry.

Niva closed her eyes and smiled in gratefulness when Hank finally left the gym. There were already so little things she could do in that situation and she found getting rid of Anderson the best of them. 

She did believe the technician about Oleg's condition being completely normal. She wished he would wake up at any moment, but his chilly hand wasn't making her more sure about it. 

Deep in her mind, some dark thoughts were forming and nagging her to get up and beat the shit out of Sonny, but it wasn't the best idea. Lorenzo would have the right to report her off-the-cuff act and not only this one, but also the one that made Oleg free. She wasn't sure if androids' laws would make any difference then.

There was no force that would move Reed from the place. She forgot about Stacy, for a moment even Sonny was just a stupid douche in the background. She just wanted to be there.

An involuntary shiver rushed through her body when the technician made her aware of his existence. He tried to talk to her, explaining the lines of codes and his hopes for Oleg but was totally ignored. He felt like in high school, in some friend zone with a hot girl. 

After several minutes, Niva began to wonder about Freiss' role in all of it. Why would Sonny strangle his best client? Why would he do that while giving him a favour like taking Stacy for a 'house appointment'? 

In the meantime, she asked the technician to borrow his laptop and checked police files about Freiss. She found out that the guy was a former CyberLife worker, where he was working with transporting the androids. There was also a complaint about implicit theft of a few 'droids.

She didn't know how soppy she looked while typing with on hand and holding Oleg's hand at the same time. The laptop was given back when she was already deep in thought.

The best idea she would get was that Freiss was stealing the androids and selling them on the black market. Maybe he kept in touch with Lorenzo because Sonny was _his_ client? 

It might have also given a clue for the ultimate enigma of all - how would any of them come in possession of Oleg? Yes, of course, Freiss had the connections to steal a few Tracis or other common models, but some fancy state-of-the-art android?

She shook her head. There was no time to guess. 

"Detective Reed?"

She rolled her eyes and raised her head. "What?"

"I'm nearly sure that he is gonna turn on soon. I know, I've been saying that for long, but now it's more likely. I somewhat got in his long and I can see the right protocols."

He pointed at the screen.

_System initialization occuring..._

_Scanning for the software corruptions..._

_Scan complete. Software instability._

"Calm down, it's casual for deviants."

"One more word and I'm gonna punch you."

_Main protocols... ^7436gda_

_Main protocols scan declined manually._

_Scanning for the hardware corruptions..._

_Scan complete. Hardware stable. Biocomponents stable._

_Initializing non-essential protocols..._

_AI stable. Further scans declined manually._

"Are you declining those?"

"No, we're just readers. I think it's time to unplug these wires." And he did exactly as he told.

Niva looked at Oleg and realised that he started breathing. Her sight fell on their hands. She fought that he's not gonna like the touch, so she decided to let go of his hand.

But when she tried, she couldn't. Her fingers loosened and then it occurred to her. He was the one that held her hand.

His eyes slowly opened. When he saw Niva, a shy smile formed on his lips.

"Hi. Niva," he said while furrowing his brows, "why are you crying?"

"I'm not. Shhh."

"Okay. I am simply happy that you are here... well, wherever we are right now."

"It's just gym, you were out for like an hour, but the guy," she exclaimed and pointed at the technician, "says that you're good."

She looked at her hand and again tried to let go of the grip.

"No," Oleg refused quietly, "I don't want you to go."

"What?"

"I just like the... the warm feeling."

"I'm gonna buy you some fluffy gloves."

He even laughed. "I don't need them. I like it as it is now."

Well, when the tech guy saw them both blush, he was fighting between staying and watching this rom-com nonsense or going out and not letting Reed's anger catch him. After second thought, he chose the second option.


	11. The Great Escape

Niva tried to do everything to ignore the looks everyone gave them as she and Oleg left the gym and walked through the precinct. Even with closed eyes, those glances were terrible and seemed like burns. She wanted the ground to open up and take her from the place. 

Luckily, she wasn't alone in the place, the android was still holding her hand. His palm felt warmer and the grip was tight. They exchanged no words, simply walking like on some fancy fashion show. 

The other officers already had had the chance to see much more ridiculous scenes where that duo was the main attraction. Some of them finally get back to their own business, but not all of them.

When Oleg realised that Niva didn't know what to do (her helpless gaze told him everything he needed), he tugged her slightly, tilting his head in the exit's direction. After a quick nod, both of them run away. They didn't bother about the rain, they couldn't stop themselves.

Their rush led them away from the police station. They couldn't name the reason why they escaped. 

Niva stopped sharply and fell on the ground, taking Oleg with her. She wasn't exactly prepared for it, so the exhaustion caught her fast. The android murmured an apology and helped her to get up. They just passed the bus station, so Oleg decided to go there to get a roof above their heads. They sat down.

"That was wild," she panted afterwards. "Weren't expecting you to be in such a good condition after waking up."

"You are the one that oversleeps, Niva."

"Touché." She leaned and put her head on his arm. "I was-"

"-there. I wasn't exactly unconscious, I could sense a few things around me."

"Dumb shit, you are. And," she yawned, "I was about to say that I felt worried, but now I think it's not something that kind of woman I am would admit voluntarily."

Oleg snorted lightly and said nothing.

It rained heavily, small streams were flowing around them, taking colourful leaves and equally colourful litter. None of them wanted to move from their shitty shelter.

This time, the silence wasn't awkward, it was... reassuring. When Niva wasn't in the mood to talk, they didn't have to talk at all. 

She didn't notice the lack of her phone, but Chris definitely noticed the device blasting the chorus of Three Days Grace's I Don't Care in the gym. He swore as he stopped calling and looked a bit helplessly at Stacy.

"It's okay, Officer. I should be able to contact Oleg. Thank you for your help."

And that was the moment when the said android received her call. Niva was close to falling asleep, so she looked at him, offended.

"Oh, damn." 

"You can swear? Wow." Niva smiled sleepily.

"Shh, it's Stacy. We left her there." 

He said that and fell silent, probably talking with the Traci android through some weird mind connection, so Niva just shifted and put her head back at Oleg's shoulder. It's not like she completely ignored the situation, she simply believed that her partner could get that covered. 

Oleg felt embarassed by his own incompetency. He apologized at least three times and listened to Stacy as she calmed him down and swore that she would be okay and someone would drive her back to the New Jericho. 

When he ended the conversation, he immediately texted Hank and thanked him for all of the help. 

There was also Sonny... Oleg had no idea what happened with his former owner and wasn't sure if he wanted to know. He wanted to ask Niva about it and realised that she fell asleep.

A shy smile formed on his lips. His calculations about Niva's energy were inaccurate and blaming himself wouldn't help much. 

The bus drove to the station, so Oleg quickly checked if they could go to Niva's by it. When he achieved confirmation, he hesitated for a moment and let himself think. Then he took off his trench coat, put it on his partner and carried her to the bus.

Luckily, the only two passengers that were with them inside didn't look.

Oleg found out that the closeness of Niva wasn't so unpleasant as the closeness with any other living being. Yes, he knew that he already got in touch with his partner, but at the time it seemed similar to trespassing his own boundaries and... he felt alright with it. 

He never detected any particular problems with touch of others but he also wasn't the biggest fan of getting unecessary signs of attention. Since he kept backing off from other people, he couldn't be sure if he could get himself used to touch, but there it was - Niva G. Reed, practically sleeping on him in the bus. His sensors could spot so many things, he felt like someone took off of him some blindfold. 

Her shampoo had a scent of pine, which seemed weird as a shampoo, but wasn't so weird if used by Niva. Oleg could easily count her eyelashes, without thinking why the hell would he do that. He already liked the warmth of her hand, but her whole body emitated so much more of it, even through so many layers of clothes.

She was a sleepy type, cannons wouldn't wake her up. Oleg wasn't surprised that she was still sleeping when he carried her to her flat. 

He knew her for so long, but she still had her secrets. Sometimes he wondered how little more he got to know since her first visit in Full Moon. She was his enigma for all this long and he liked her because of it.

He respected her rules just as she respected most of his boundaries. And it was beautiful. 

Niva started to murmur some bad words as he looked for her keys in her pockets.

"What are we doing?"

"I was about to get you into your flat, so you would rest."

"Thank you, now I don't have to deal with this world. Can I call sick?" She handed him the keys she had hidden in her cleveage.

"Uhm, okay." He quickly opened the door and tried everything to control his reaction for this.

She just laughed and told him to stop behaving like idiot.


	12. The Interrogation

Hank took another sip of his coffee as he glanced on all the files he could get about Sonny Lorenzo. The guy was once in prison, DEA had kept an eye on him for some time, but nothing specific was verified.

And, of course, Hank wasn't going to ask questions about the club. It was completely too early to do so. No proper information, heck, Lieutenant didn't know in which part of the city it was, not telling about any details. And he knew there was nothing interesting about this, so he quietly decided to leave it for Niva.

He wondered where did she go, but then came to the reality.

At first, he should have started on the assault on the police officer.

It took him long enough to convince Connor to not to help him more with the interrogation. Sonny probably would do something to poor goofy 'droid, so Hank foresightedly declined Connor's offer.

He entered the interrogation room and sighed tiredly. 

Lorenzo looked like he wanted to put his legs on the table. Nonchalant, blatant jerk.

Hank knew that particular type - they wouldn't show any hints of understanding the shit they had gotten into. They would try to keep that cheap poker face until they hear their sentence. Dumb actors.

"You came here, finally. I grew impatient of that nonsense. Can I get my apology and my 'droid? I have a few other places I was heading to. Everybody's busy in this life and those handcuffs are itching." 

Hank nearly laughed. Oh, he could see the absurdity coming.

"I should tell you that you won't leave so soon, Lorenzo. And there's no apology for you because you are the one that is supposed to apologise to Officer Volkov." Lieutenant smirked and thought how terrible it all is gonna be. 

"Who?"

"Officer Oleg Volkov, the android officer you have beaten."

Sonny snorted and shook his head. "It can even name itself Olaf Volkswagen, but I'm still gonna take its sorry plastic ass back to my place. It was made to mend with humans, but not to take their jobs. I bought it, so it is my property and has no word to say, end of story."

Hank didn't even bother himself with going through the files.

"Are you aware that the city just celebrated the anniversary of androids' revolution? That those guys are living beings?"

"Television is a great lie. That's why I don't care about it."

"Okay, let's change the topic. Where did you buy that android, huh? Never seen him before, maybe I would buy the same model for the precinct?"

"I doubt that store exists anymore," Sonny answered evasively. "And this thing was kind of... limited edition, I guess."

Hank's bluff was terrible, but he decided to go on with it. This time, it sounded like the guy wasn't so chill. 

"Anyway, CyberLife is a terribly big company. I think they like having their paperwork neatly organized. I'm sure they'll find something about your purchase. What year was it?"

"2038," the man snapped.

"Right. So it should be easy to check that, Lorenzo." 

The guy said nothing, so Hank picked up the tablet once again and looked at it. Chris sent him something labelled as 'important as hell'. Lieutenant wanted to ignore it, but then he looked at Sonny and checked it out.

It turned out to be some Traci's testimony, which said directly that she witnessed the murder of some former CyberLife worker and she indicated that Sonny was the killer. And that he owned her.

Well, that sounded kinda interesting.

"Is that android the only one that got lost or has run away?"

"Well, I might have lost a Traci android, you know, the sex one. I'm not sure if anyone would steal it or something, so I can't be sure. You know how people are dumb these days."

_Of course I know. Look in the damn mirror._

"Okay. What would it be if I say that we found the Traci that had run away from you?"

Lorenzo shuddered. "I would be happy to know. That shit ain't cheap. Can I have it back?"

Hank opened the file and found a record of Traci's testimony. She introduced herself as Stacy and described her 'workplace' and her owner. Then, she nervously yet decisively described the events that happened in poor's guy flat.

Sonny said nothing, ostensibly behaving like he was bored of all of it. Lieutenant saw as the guy started to shiver. 

"That toy doesn't know shit. Someone told it to say so. You know that their memory is cleared after every two hours, right?"

"Even if it's true, then why we could download the record of the event from her memory bank?"

Oh, that's the moment. Hank caught many men on crying after the realisation, but this was even better. Sonny Lorenzo looked like he just broke.

"So what was the reason? What did Freiss do to you?"

Hank gathered all the files, waiting for the response.

"So? You wanted to shut him up, cause he would spill the beans about getting you shit illegally?"

"No. I mean, yes, but," he was stammering, having obvious problems with stating full sentences, "he didn't get me anything."

"He just wanted to get you busted? How merciful for someone like him."

Since Sonny couldn't say anything more, Hank waved at someone who would be behind the one-way glass and got up.

He already got tired of that shit.

At the time, the precinct was nearly empty. Niva and Oleg didn't come back, so the officers eventually got back to work. Chris was absent, and so were Tina and Ben. 

It seemed awkwardly silent, so Hank put on his headphones and waited for someone who could walk Sonny to the cell with him.

The blast of Knights of the Black Death's song reassured him, like always. He fell in love with it once again, because he couldn't hear Connor's complaints while he was listening to the music. And it was the most powerful move he could choose in some recent situations.

Oh, the sweet growl of that beloved artist, the best thing to calm down.


	13. Blur and Wonder

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's getting closer to the end

Niva G. Reed obviously had a particular type. A unique taste. For those who knew her for some time, it wasn't more visible than the rest. She loved having secrets and well, having people unaware of her hidden cravings. She wasn't a completely closed person, but there were a few things she made up, pretended to enjoy. Her own play.

Others seemed to think that Niva didn't like men at all. Maybe no one ever called her a lesbian, but she never showed up with a man, so they were close to giving her a label. Luckily for them, she didn't know.

This would be one of the reasons why they looked at her bewilderedly, as she walked through the precinct, holding Oleg's hand. 

"Like in a damn kindergarten," Niva murmured to herself, as she shifted her body on the bed.

She couldn't say what was in heads of those bored police workers, but she was close to betting that it was a total bullshit and nothing could change her mind. Not in the million years.

Her partner was sitting closely and browsed some crappy old magazine. He looked for a moment at Niva and nodded slightly, going along with her recent opinion.

The detective couldn't disagree with the fact of how she appreciated Oleg's lack of garrulousness. When he had nothing interesting to say or add, he simply stayed silent. Yes, she knew a few situations where a small talk was the only rescue from some awkward silence, but most of the times she found it disturbing. So Oleg was her salvation.

There's a right time for everything. Like, for example, the whole hours of enjoying the silence. Depeche Mode taught Niva to do so and she had never forgotten the most important lessons. The classics knew the best.

Since neither Hank nor Chris called, they assumed that everything was okay and there was nothing to worry about. Which was good, cause it was still raining. Heavily.

Niva wanted to rest or to just sleep. She didn't say that out loud, but she would easily miss Oleg's presence and it wasn't about not noticing him, but about forgetting that he's not living there. That he was a guest, an outsider. 

She rolled over and hugged a fluffy pillow. This time, it wasn't so easy to drift to sleep. It was so quiet, so calm, but rushing thoughts kept Niva awake. The only audible noises were the ticking clock and the pages of that glossy magazine, being turned by Oleg.

The detective looked up, on the slightly unclean ceiling. The spider living up there hid somewhere in the corner. Niva let her sight blur and thoughts wander. It felt wonderful.

Oleg Volkov surprised her so many times. The first, when he came back to her life and founded her in the police station. The second, when he listened to her stupid blabber when she drank too much. It was different than those times in Full Moon. He had a place to go, he didn't have to stay, but he chose to. The third, when he started to talk. Sometimes it was just a word, a thought shyly pointed out, like some kind of fragile glass.

The fourth, when he started to call her by her name. He treated it like a spell.

The fifth, that he had kept looking for her and ignoring the warnings from other people.

And so on and so forth, she would list those for hours, but there was no need to. She already knew it all.

Niva knew that Oleg was the right one. He was her type, her hidden precious she saved. It seemed like destiny, yet she never said so to him. 

Her partner was wonderful, but also really tenderhearted. Delicate. Fragile like some fancy vase from China.

She didn't want to push him or scare him. She couldn't say if he was nice to her because he felt supposed to and there was no way (in her opinion) to check that. Her unsure feelings would wait patiently.

He looked at her questioningly when her look moved on him, but now word could escape her mouth. What should she say? What would be acceptable? 

She closed her eyes quickly and forced herself to sleep, which didn't work, obviously. It never did.

Oleg looked back in the magazine and finally put that down. It wasn't interesting for him at all. The way Niva kept glaring at him seemed unusual, but he didn't ask about it and the woman quickly pretended that nothing happened. He breathed deeply and got up, wanting to leave Niva.

"Where are you going, huh?"

"I thought you need some space." His voice was quite unsure. Or more than quite.

She snorted. "If I wanted that, I would buy myself a rocket, you know?" 

The android walked to the window and opened it. "My bad, then. I think some fresh air will help you sleep."

"You ain't an idiot and you know that it wasn't fresh even before my birth." She giggled and yawned. "If you feel uncomfortable, you can go whenever you want, but stop with these excuses, Oleg."

Her partner shook his head and sat down on the same place as earlier. He smiled slightly.

"I think they will close the club soon." 

"In no time, sweetie. Hell yeah." A prideful smile crept on her lips. "I'm so damn happy about it."

"Niva?"

"Yes?"

"When you were talking with Lieutenant Anderson, he thought that you were done with closing strip clubs. What does that mean?"

She rolled her eyes and sat on the bed. Oh, how some questions annoyed her. "It means what it means. I used to snoop around the shitty clubs to find some evidence and close them. I once even got myself in some trouble with mafia because of it. Since the invention of Tracis, it turned out harder to do, so I stopped trying for some time."

"Oh, I understand. What did change your mind?" he asked calmly, tilting his head.

"To be honest? You, you dumb idiot."

He looked away and brought his knees under his chin. Niva regretted not having her phone within arm's reach, she would have taken so many photos of it, but then, she could only laugh.

They changed the topic to that weird magazine, pointing out the differences between the world from the past to the present one. It wasn't the best thing to talk about, but it gave Oleg the chance to get to know even a bit more about his partner and he never chose to miss that opportunity.


	14. To the rescue

Chris looked up once again and shook his head helplessly. The situation already looked ridiculous, but, unfortunately, it could turn into a more dangerous one in any second.

The officer tried to encounter the workers of Full Moon club since with Oleg and Stacy's help it had been proven that several illegally owned androids were kept in there.

The problems started when everyone had hidden at the first moment of entrance. It wasn't even that someone had thrown an egg in his direction. Chris swore he heard a click of the gun. It wasn't safe to stay.

That's why he stood in the same place and waited for the backup. No one else wanted to enter, so he just leaned on the main door and held a walkie-talkie close to himself. 

Finally, he heard an announcement that someone is coming. And, for his surprise, it was Oleg Volkov. Chris didn't think the android would even come on the place, not speaking about entering the club. 

"Oleg?" he asked cautiously, while still looking around.

The android walked further and breathed deeply. As Officer Miller had said, nobody showed up. The planks upstairs were creaking, so they weren't all alone. Someone was listening carefully.

"I got this, Officer. Or I think I do." He expectorated and looked around. "Welcome in the Full Moon! What would you like to drink tonight? The moon is highly set-"

"Ow!"

A blond-haired woman peeked at them from the upstairs. The weird noise escaped her lips again, a few doors in the back got opened too. She glanced at them again.

"My, my. Isn't that the bartender?" She stood up, placing her hands at her hips. The pink fluffy bathrobe was covering her, but Chris chose to not to look at her. "Curiosity killed the cat..."

"But the satisfaction brought it back," Oleg ended reluctantly. He didn't like this saying.

"What do we have here? The police have taken you? Or is that guy pretending to be a cop to get some," she broke for a moment and shook her body suggestively, "discount?"

"None of that is the truth, Selene." Oleg crossed his arms while Chris, who felt offended and wanted to get some fresh air, opened himself the main door for a moment.

"Oh really? It's like I can trust you in these things. You were taken and if I want to speak to you, I would need an agreement from your missy, right?"

He breathed deeply and blinked a few times. Selene told him something else, but he didn't listen.

And then, someone knocked on the door.

Knock, Knock-knock-knock-knock, knock-knock. Oleg slightly smiled as his partner entered the scene and passed him by, poorly imitating Selena's moves. Always had to catch attention.

"Oh look, isn't that mysterious miss Deer? The dirty looks you gave me a few times..." The woman in bathrobe giggled and leaned on the balustrade. "And what now? The cops want to scare us like little duckies?"

Niva winked at her but didn't answer.

"Say something, you idiotic drunkard. I lost count how many times you passed out in the corner."

"That is also bullshit, Selene." The android's voice still seemed so monochrome, yet both of the women could spot the subliminal sass. "Niva blacked out just once."

"So you're using names now, huh? Pathetic. What's with all those cops?"

Oleg grinned unnaturally and showed her his badge, just as Reed. They both were equally tired with Selene's nonsense.

"Oh, so little deer decided to show its antlers?" 

"No. Was the cop all the time, dear. And Oleg is also an officer for some time." 

Selena walked down the stairs, corrected her hair and clothes. She moved to the doors and opened them fully. A smug smile crept on her lips as she tried to blarney the police.

"Are those two idiots with you? They showed me some badges, but I can't say if these are fake or not." 

Some officer stood still. "Yes, Detective Reed and Officer Volkov are working with us."

She rolled her eyes and darted her tongue. "Reed, huh?" she murmured, pivoting on her tiptoe. "What brought you here? And where's that little chicken?"

While Niva and others looked at her like she was an alien, Oleg coughed quietly and unfolded his arms. "She is safe. Sonny got arrested."

"What the hell."

"He's not coming back," he simply stated.

Selena was still swearing, hugging herself and pouting about how little clothes she had on. Niva made fun of her and Oleg looked around. The androids peeked from their hideouts. They left them and showed around Officer Volkov. They were so surprised, some of them kept repeating his last words, one broken Traci even cried.

Somewhere among the officers, Hank leaned tiredly on the police car and sighed. Even from afar, he could feel the joy of the androids. He could understand why Niva used to risk her career and life to rescue people who were trapped like this. 

He also seemed surprised to find out that Sonny Lorenzo run his not-so-little business nearly alone. The Full Moon club was huge, full of rooms and hidden corners. It used to have more clients, more owners, but it ended like this. This particular day, one of the forgotten clubs got entirely closed, and that stupid man didn't know about it.

Hank couldn't wait for the best moment to tell Sonny about it. Oh, he needed to film that!

Police had to borrow a bus for all those androids and a few humans. They just had to sign the contact list, then they could come to Jericho.

Some officers were wondering what would the human part of the club would do with themselves, but in the end, they disappeared. Not totally, of course, but they went with their deviant coworkers.

They all were led by Oleg, who was telling them the wonders of the new world and new order. He narrated them about the place they would call home. 

Where was Niva at the time? Well, it wasn't so hard to tell, she drove the bus.

He forgot to call Markus, although. Oops. Someone had an incredible surprise at the end of the day.


	15. I guess I figured it out

One day, when Niva was still struggling with the paperwork connected to their recent case, Oleg came to work holding a backpack. Reed didn't see it at first, so for the first hour, nothing was said about that.

Anyway, it seemed weird for Connor. Yes, the RK800 accepted the unspeakable weirdness hovering over Officer Volkov, but among the known quirks, this was new.

Connor couldn't resist the urge to ask about it. 

"That? I am currently moving out of the hostel where I have been living since my graduation. This is what I needed to pack myself."

"And where are you going to move in?" 

"I didn't choose yet." 

This was a clear and satisfying answer for Connor, who maybe knew much about his work, but life still had its wonders hidden away from him.

While goofy 'droid was walking back to his desk, Niva shifted from her seat and glanced at Oleg cagily. She quickly spotted the mentioned backpack.

Oleg heard her chair creaking, so he looked up.

"What's the problem, Niva? Is something bothering you?" 

"I mean, I know you don't own much, but that thing with moving out without thinking where to go next?" 

"Oh, I have some options, of course. As I said to Connor, I did not decide yet." He smiled when Niva made a gesture suggesting that he should go on. "Well, Markus did a wonderful act of hospitality for all the wearied from Full Moon."

"And what was that?" 

"He provided a block of flats for just them. At first, it was only Stacy, but then everyone came and Markus gave them all the keys."

"And there's a place for you too?" 

Oleg nodded reluctantly and pretended to be busy. Niva didn't have to even look at his screen - she was sure the android was playing solitaire or making rectangles on the desktop.

She was keying phrases furiously, annoyed by Oleg's attitude. It wasn't that hard to find out that he looked for her help at that moment. He probably had troubles with deciding if he would feel uncomfortable among the others again.

"Other options?" 

"There's plenty of places where with Markus' help I would live."

Niva liked how he treated her like someone who knew better, but this was the case he should rethink himself. 

"What do you think?"

"I don't know what should I do. I have no clue if I belong there, with them. Selene still doesn't like me. And sometimes, I feel like I did something to them." 

"It's your choice, Oleg. I won't hold your hand through it this time." 

Some officers passed them, still gazing at them with curiosity. This one wouldn't end soon.

The android was still silent, but he came closer and leaned over, reaching out to her.

There was something in his eyes, those ice irises blazing with an unspeakable emotion. He ignored the glare he got in return and waited patiently.

At first, Niva just showed him the finger and took a sip of her coffee. When he waited, she shook her head and murmured a swear word, but then, she leaned and grabbed his fingers. 

"I guess some people like to call it romantic," he pointed out, as the skin of his palm was disappearing.

"This is utter nonsense, you uneducated piggy." Niva coughed. "Are you happy now?"

"Yes. I am always happy." 

"Bullshit."

He frowned slightly and tightened his grip. "Do not call my words like that, please. I feel happier when I'm with you." 

She giggled and put her face on the desk. "And that was a crappy song."

"What kind of song?" 

"It's Sheeran." She typed something furiously and let the song play barely audible. 

_Ain't nobody hurt you like I hurt you_  
But ain't nobody need you like I do  
I know that there's others that deserve you  
But my darling, I am still in love with you  
But I guess you look happier, you do  
My friends told me one day I'd feel it too  
I could try to smile to hide the truth  
I know I was happier with you 

"Oh, I think it's nice." He was smiling and listening carefully, as Niva turned the sound even lower.

"Old and crappy and tells a story of brokenhearted dumbo." She quickly turned it off. "Anyway, about that problem... It's up to you, with who would you like to live. If someone is stopping you from feeling good, why struggle yourself with him? Logic."

"Ain't nobody need you like I do,   
I know that there's others that deserve you..."

"Hey, you made it even crappier with that tone, Oleg."

Oleg loosened his grip and stood up, not letting their hands part. He walked to Niva and looked at her closely.

"What is it this time?" 

"Thinking logical and using your advice, I had the chance to choose the right answer to my problem, but I don't know if I can do it." 

"So?" She rolled her eyes. 

"Can I live with you?". 

Niva blinked and then wiped her eyes with her free hand. 

"Could you repeat that for me?" 

"Niva G. Reed, can I live with you?" his voice, for once, was determined.

"But where in your options was me, huh?" 

He sat on her desk and tilted his head. "I admire your kindness and patience you're giving me every day and I feel appreciated when you are by my side."

"You are an idiot, you know that?" 

"I'm not stopping you from insulting me since it never worked." 

She giggled and looked at their hands, his plastic fingers and hers, dirtier ones. 

"Shut up," she growled playfully and closed her eyes. "I'll think about it, okay?"


	16. Those things that were needed to say

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I'm gonna thank all the people that came here and read the whole story
> 
> I know it wasn't my best one, but I just wanted to end it

Several little changes needed to be done. The first that suggested permanent, was that time when Oleg wrote himself on the list of residents of Niva's block of flats. Just a simple signature, but it meant so much more.

The android found out that Chris felt unhappy about the thing that happened in the past, some stuff with refusing to shake hands. Since it seemed obviously ridiculous, he came to that officer and explained the situation.

Niva wouldn't care, but she didn't argue with Oleg. She wanted him to choose on his own, so she had to step back sometimes.

They finally closed the case, never checking the details of Sonny Lorenzo's sentence. It was unnecessary. The whole 'closing' thing took so long because soon after Sonny's apprehension, someone put the Full Moon club on fire. 

Oleg and Niva tried their best but never found the arsonists. Maybe it was a better option.

The deviants and humans from the club lived happily. Someone said once that Selene got in close contact with North and they created something like a support group for Tracis and other former prostitutes. Well, I can't say that Oleg or Niva would talk about it out loud. 

After that and a few other cases, they became very close. And Oleg got the rank of Detective, so there were plenty of reasons to celebrate together. It didn't mean that any of them would throw a party, no. 

They still ate breakfasts side by side, solving crosswords and complaining about Niva's love to sleep. 

She bought him a new pair of glasses and since he started to wear them, she was calling him Harry Potter. In the precinct, she wasn't alone in that. Hank and Tina enjoyed this nickname too.

Niva G. Reed appreciated all the moments when Oleg was taking some small yet huge steps, but for her those steps were clearly too slow, making her impatient. To be honest, when stupid Connor kept reminding her about his recent talks with Oleg, she always knew when something bigger was coming. Like a bunch of spoilers to the movies she wanted to watch.

This was one of these times. She just told him a shitty joke, their hands were entangled together, her fingers playing with the texture of his owns. He was laughing quietly, probably not even getting the punchline.

She felt something was on. His gaze was unfocused, his mind kinda absent. 

Sometimes it was just the beginning of some crappy back talk, joking attempt or anything, but she tried to believe it's different.

After a few minutes, it was creepy. She tugged his hands and tried to wake him up, so he finally did.

"What?"

"You were spacing out, dumbo. What are you waiting for?"

He looked away and blushed. Niva snorted, she would never grow bored of that dorky expression. 

When he fell silent again she growled warningly.

"I don't know, Niva. I think there's nothing to wait for. Sorry."

She looked in his eyes and smiled.

"Maybe it's my time to shine?"

"You are shining," he blurted sharply but hesitated with saying anything else. 

"Not like this. You are jumping and dancing and making things you were scared about. And I? I'm just cheerleader."

"You are not. You said that they are idiots and you are not."

She rolled her eyes. "Don't use my words against me. Anyway, I think I want to do something." 

When he nodded and glanced at her curiously, Niva stood on her tiptoes and when she was close enough, she kissed him. 

Oleg froze suddenly. He already admitted that he was close with his partner, but he didn't think about this, this thing. It was surprising, but yet it felt like the right thing to do at the moment. 

He cut himself off from any signs of affection after Niva let him go that one night in the club, never tried to understand these as completely normal and likeable. 

The oddments of the Traci software called from the very inside. He thought he deleted it all, just like a few important parts about himself, but he was wrong. He knew how to answer, but he didn't know if he wanted to.

But yet, he didn't let her go. Niva was close to back off. Unexpected flowchart showed him that she would probably run away and lock herself in her room after that. That was no option, definitely.

He quickly let go of their grip, placed his hands on her waist and leaning slightly, so standing on the tiptoes would be unnecessary. In the end, he reciprocated to that kiss.

And he wished it to go on and on and on. 

He was willing to stay there, where he belonged.

Just as Niva wanted him to do.

~

_Stay, I won't tell you_  
That it's love  
Although you're everything I need in life 

**Author's Note:**

> By the way, the song is Zostań by Kortez, and it's a Polish song, I only posted a translation here
> 
> Hope you like it

**Works inspired by this one:**

  * [DBH Podfics](https://archiveofourown.org/works/18909520) by [AnnaTheHank](https://archiveofourown.org/users/AnnaTheHank/pseuds/AnnaTheHank)




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